Kacey Rexhausen

Activity Name Spiderweb Counting Mats

Curriculum Interest Area Freeplay Math / Fine Motor Activity

Developmental Domain Cognition & General Knowledge / Health & Physical Development

# of Children & Adults Small group or independent child (this activity is child-guided and is
available during center time for children to come and go independently)

Purpose / Description of the This week’s theme is Owls, Spiders, and Bats, so the teacher decided to
activity
modify a spider-themed math activity found on Pinterest to better suit the
needs of the children in the classroom. By adding bugs to the web on one side
of each counting mat, the teacher can reinforce the concept that spiders eat
bugs and that they use their webs to catch their prey.

Objectives • V. Cognition and General Knowledge

◦ B. Mathematical thinking
▪ B.EL.1 – Demonstrates an understanding of numbers and
counting
• Arranges sets of objects in one-to-one correspondence
OR
Can rote count and counts concrete objects to five and
beyond
OR
Recognizes some numerals and associates number
concepts with print materials in a meaningful way
OR
Names and writes some numerals

• I. Health and Physical Development

Transition into the activity /
Introduction / Anticipatory
Set
◦ B. Motor Development
▪ B.EL.2 – Exhibits eye-hand coordination, strength, control, and
object manipulation
• Coordinates eyes with hands and uses both hands with
intention and purpose
OR
Performs simple fine motor skills and manipulates smaller
objects with increasing control
OR
Uses strength and control to perform complex fine motor
tasks
 During circletime in the morning, the teacher should read a book
about or involving spiders that mentions that they spin webs and/or
eat bugs (for example, Over in the Hollow, written by Rebecca
 Dickinson and illustrated by S.britt)
 During the book or after it is finished, the teacher should talk about
how spiders spin webs and use them to catch bugs to eat. She may say
something like, “Spiders make webs to catch bugs to eat. They spin
sticky silk that comes out of their spinnerets, and they crawl around
and around, usually in circles, spinning silk until they’ve created a web.
Spiders and webs come in different shapes and sizes, but the webs are
always made to catch food to eat. When a bug flies too close to a web
and bumps into it, it gets stuck on the silk and it’s trapped. Then the
spider comes along and wraps it up in even more silk so it’s really stuck
on the web. When it’s stuck tight, the spider bites the bug with its
hollow fangs and injects it with a special chemical that turns its insides
to goo. Later, it’ll come back, slurp the bug goo out, and eat it. Yummy,
right? Would you eat that?”
 Then, she should let children know that spiderweb counting mats will
be available on the table throughout the day for them count bugs and
spiders and practice writing their numbers. She should show them a
card and spiders as an example and say, “When you go to the table,
you can choose a spiderweb counting mat with a number from 1 to 10.
One side has bugs on the web, and one side has an empty web. You
can choose to use either side. There’s a number printed here in the
bottom right corner that tells you how many spiders to count out and
put on the web. If you don’t recognize the number, it’s the same
number of bugs that are stuck on the web on one side of the card. If
you use the side with bugs, each bug gets one spider on top of it.
When you’re done counting spiders, you can use a marker to trace the
number on your card. When you’re done, you can put your spiders
back in the bowl and wipe your card clean with a paper towel.”
Children will be able to come and go from the activity during freeplay
time as they please.

Materials needed • a book about or involving spiders that mentions that they spin webs
and/or eat bugs (for example, Over in the Hollow, written by Rebecca
Dickinson and illustrated by S.britt)

Procedure / Guided Practice
• spiderweb counting mats and spiders from the pattern found at
https://www.adabofgluewilldo.com/spider-counting-mats/
[Note: to accommodate varying skill levels in this class, the teacher
modified this pattern by printing out two copies of each number mat,
drawing the appropriate number of bugs stuck to the web on one copy
of each number, and laminating each blank and buggy same-numbered
web back-to-back with a piece of sturdy paper sandwiched between
them. She also chose to print out counting mats and spiders at half the
scale that they automatically come in in order to enhance fine motor
opportunities
• scissors to cut out individual spiders
• marker or pen to draw bugs on webs
• bowls to hold spiders
• washable or whiteboard markers
• paper towel to wipe marker away
• (optional) trays to help contain spider cutouts
• (optional) plastic sleeves for counting mats
OR
(optional) laminator and laminating sleeves to improve durability
[Note: if neither of these are available, print extra counting mats so
children can use marker on them or use pencils/erasers instead]
o During freeplay/center time, (or during circletime if an assistant
teacher is available to set up) the teacher should arrange counting
mats and small bowls containing spider cutouts in the center of a table.
She may choose to put a certain number of chairs or trays at the table
(for example, 2 or 4) to help limit the number of children who can do
the activity at one time, or she may choose to do so verbally by saying
something like, “Only three people can do this activity at a time, but I’d
be happy to call you over for a turn when one of my friends is done!
You have the next turn.”
o Materials will remain available for children to use throughout
freeplay/center time or throughout the course of the day, for children
to come and go as they please.

Transition from the activity /
Closure
o When children come to the table for the first time, the teacher may
approach the table and tell or show the children how to count and
arrange the spiders on the web or how to trace numbers using similar
instructions to those used during circletime, but this activity is
primarily child-directed and intended for children to choose to use or
not use and work independently.
o If a child needs support or if the teacher would like to interact one-on-
one with a child, the teacher may sit at the table with children and
help them by identifying numbers they don’t recognize (“This is an 8. If
you don’t recognize the number, you can flip it to the side with bugs on
the web and count them. Can you count with/for me? 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-
8!”), encouraging them to continue if they get stuck (“This is the
number 6. We have 1-2-3 spiders on the web already. How many more
do we need? How many bugs aren’t covered by a spider yet?”), or by
gently correcting/ redirecting children who select an incorrect number
of spiders (“This is the number 4 and you have 7 spiders on your web.
There aren’t enough bugs for all of these spiders to eat. Let’s take off
some spiders so we’re left with just 4.”)
o If the child counts spiders first, the teacher may say, “Alright, pick up a
marker and trace the number in the corner!” or if they trace the
number first, she may say, “Okay, now let’s count spiders. What
number is this?/How many bugs are on the web?”
 When children have finished counting spiders and tracing numbers, the
teacher should congratulate them by saying something like, “You did it!
You stuck with it until you were all done!” or “Wow, you finished even
faster than last time!”
 Next, the teacher should ask, “What number is this?”
 Then, the teacher should ask children to count their spiders and should
point to each spider as the child counts to support one-to-one number
correspondence.
 When a child is all done, the teacher should ask them to sing “The Itsy
Bitsy Spider” (or “The Great Big Spider” or “The Teensy Weensy Spider)
with her before transitioning to the next activity.
  If children want to leave the activity before finishing a counting mat,
the teacher can encourage them to finish by saying things like, “Only a
few more spiders left! You’ve almost got it! How many more do you
need?” or “You’re so close! Let’s keep going!” but should not force
children to finish.

Check for Understanding Children will be determined to have understood the lesson if they are able
to place (only) one spider on each fly, if they can count spiders or flies (mats
are numbered from 1 to 10), if they can recognize and name some numerals
from 1 to 10, and/or if they can write some numerals from 1 to 10, and if they
are able to use their thumbs and forefingers to pick up the small spiders (and
place them accurately over the flies, if applicable) or if they are able to use the
marker to make marks ranging from scribbles or lines to recognizable numbers.

Student Self-Assessment 1. Did you meet your objectives?

◦ Yes, children in the class had varying skill levels, but all met at
least the lower end of the chosen objectives.
2. The activity went well because......
◦ Children were able to do the activity by using the bugs, even if
they didn’t know numbers by sight. Most children chose to do
this activity, and several children did multiple counting mats or
did counting mats multiple times.
3. The activity would be more successful next time if......
◦ I encouraged kids to try it without the bugs the first time.